Cutting Aluminum skin

muddog16 · July 06, 2011, 05:02:10 AM

I used a dewalt 4 1/2" grinder with cutting wheels.....9 windows 4 wheels...took about an hour. I spent more time laying them out than cutting them.....on that plasma cutter......lol........call the local fire department or have a fire watch on the other side!

belfert · July 06, 2011, 07:45:38 AM

I have used a saber/jig saw to cut aluminum. I'm thinking an air powered body saw would work good.

(I accidentally called a saber saw a scroll saw when I first posted.)

bottomacher · July 06, 2011, 08:07:19 AM

I always use a carbide, fine tooth circular saw to cut everything from thin sheet to about 1/4" plate. Keep the saw steady and take your time. Curves require a jigsaw or sawzall (more difficult to keep steady.

Charles in SC · July 06, 2011, 06:36:15 PM

One of the challenges when using a saw such as a jigsaw is to keep from scratching up the surface with the foot. When using a saw it works best to use a cutting lube oil to help keep the saw teeth from loading up. A router works great. A die grinder works great but you need to find out what wheels work best.

robertglines1 · July 06, 2011, 07:39:06 PM

Still just use the old air chisel with the prong sheet metal cutting bit. cut radius and all. no heat ,no grinding and no warping.

luvrbus · July 06, 2011, 08:45:23 PM

I use a trim router with the carbide bit for aluminum cost about 25 bucks at Lowes for the bit

good luck

robertglines1 · July 06, 2011, 08:51:04 PM

Haven't tried the router yet sounds good. I like the air chisel even on the stainless steel -seams the stainless eats everything else and the chisel doesn't care. Will try the router on the Alum. Good idea.

Charles in SC · July 07, 2011, 05:45:07 PM

Quote from: robertglines1 on July 06, 2011, 08:51:04 PM
Haven't tried the router yet sounds good. I like the air chisel even on the stainless steel -seams the stainless eats everything else and the chisel doesn't care. Will try the router on the Alum. Good idea.

When you try the router, do not try to hand guide it. Set up a guide and wear eye protection. The debris from it is like aluminum snow.

Hal · July 07, 2011, 09:17:22 PM

You'll need to use a panel cutting router bit, it will have a ball bearing guide. Works great. Like I said earlier, I used .080 aluminum too and it worked great. Hal

bergdoll · July 08, 2011, 03:31:36 AM

Jigsaw. There are a variety of blades, a fairly decent, name brand one is around $50., & it's pretty easy for making the corner radius cuts.

Tikvah · July 08, 2011, 06:02:25 AM

Well, I ended up using my side grinder with a very thin cutting wheel. I used the jig saw on the corners to cut the curve. The jig saw was fine, but went through about two blades per window. With the grinder I can do almost one window before changing wheels. But, in the end, the side grinder gave a nice smooth cut. It did heat the aluminum and stretch it, but when it cooled it went right back.

robertglines1 · July 08, 2011, 06:05:29 AM

looks great next!

buddydawg · July 08, 2011, 06:48:35 AM

I don't know what blade you used in the jig saw to cut the aluminum. You can try the DeWalt DW3705 it has 8 TPI and is made for Aluminum/Fiberglass. If you use a blade made for cutting steel it will load up quickly and be useless. In general you can use the same blades for aluminum that are made for wood.